In Defense of the Disney Princesses

Something struck me recently and no I don’t mean in the physical way. Over the past few months I’ve noticed a number of articles on the web that all focus on how awful the Disney Princesses are and all of the terrible things that they teach girls. Now, I’m not here to bash someone’s opinion but to politely disagree and say what I have to say. In my mind I believe that the Disney Princesses teach young girls many valuable qualities, morals and lessons through their films and on the Broadway stage.

         As I have stated a few times on here I was a child of the 90’s. Like most of you I grew up with the Disney Princesses and just Disney in general. The princesses were my favorite characters that I loved so much that I wanted to be them. As I mentioned in a few other posts there was even a point when I was about 5 or 6 that I actually wanted to be Belle at Disney World when I grew up-I showed up to career day in a full-out Belle costume I was that serious about it! When I watched the movies I never saw anything that I thought was wrong about how Disney presented these characters. I enjoyed watching the movies on a constant loop that drove my parents and well anyone around insane. These were positive, empowering female role models for me and many other young girls throughout childhood.

         Now, I don’t have kids but from how my parents raised me and knowing what I want to instill in my future children I know that I want them to be honest, kind, loyal, generous etc. Those are all qualities that we want our kids to have in them and we see them in every single Disney princess. One might argue that they sit around and do nothing and show little girls that they need to change this or that to be loved and accepted by others most notably by guys. But, when you look at it these princesses are in a way indicative to the time periods in which the films are released-you can definitely see it in the earlier princesses to the more recent ones. While they to an extent represent their time they are also ahead of their time in ways of showing that there is good and evil in this world, by standing for themselves and going out to find a way to get what they want, Yes, it might not be exactly like what we would say today but Cinderella wanted to go to that ball and hey, she found a way to get there.

         These are characters that are adored by millions of girls and they all emulate morals and traits that every parent wants to see in their child. We want our girls to kind, accepting, generous, patient and loyal. We want them to be courageous like Mulan, brave like Merida, curious like Aurora, adventurous like Pocahontas, assertive like Rapunzel, caring like Snow White, determined like Jasmine and to have the spirit of Ariel. We want them to follow their dreams whether it’s to become an entrepreneur like Tiana or to have a passion for books and learning like Belle. We want them to choose their path in life from what they do to who they marry-does this sound a bit familiar!?

         These women show that to little girls from a very young age. Will they necessarily get it from the first time they watch the films at the age of three-probably not. But as they grow older watching these movies and experiencing life they can and will relate them to real-life lessons. I always remember understanding as I got a little older around the age of 5 that Belle not only fell in love with the Beast but she accepted him for who he was-she was accepting something that we all want to have in ourselves and see in our kids. Elsa and Anna from Frozen teach them that not every fairytale needs to have a prince save a princess and they live happily ever after but sometimes you just need your sister and that it’s okay to be different and to do whatever you want(girl power anyone)!

These are important lessons that the princesses teach kids that we have and currently can see live on Broadway. The actresses who originated these roles and the ones who have succeeded them have continued to spread the messages and lessons that the princesses represent to young girls in a way that only a live musical staging can do. Susan Egan brought the kindness, intelligence and gentleness of Belle to life in the 90’s and Sierra Boggess gave the mermaid her voice, spirit and determination in 2007. Currently, Courtney Reed is bringing the independence, integrity and compassion of Jasmine live eight-times a week over at the New Amsterdam Theater.

It is these lessons that we remember, there is a reason why each little girl has a favorite princess throughout their life, I loved Belle because like me she loved to read, she showed me from a very early age that intelligence is amazing and to accept others for who they are. Each princess taught me something from the importance of kindness in Cinderella to instilling that I can be independent like Jasmine. There’s a reason why girls latch on to these characters through adulthood and you see them buying tiaras, dolls, little mementos and the DVDs. It’s not just because the movies and the characters are near and dear to them but because they taught them something as well. While we all want to be happy and find that fairytale ending where we ride off with our prince on a magic carpet to live out a tale that is old as time we also want it for our girls whether it’s our present ones or like mine the hypothetically speaking. We want them to have the princess ending but mostly we want them to kind, independent, intelligent, generous etc.-all of the things and more that the Disney Princesses show young girls every single day when a mother presses play on the remote.

XOXO

-Bwaygirl828

Photo credit:http://www.disney.com.au/iamaprincess/index.php/site/being_a_disney_princess

A Whole New World

Hello my lovelies it’s time for an overdue update! With this seemingly never-ending winter looking like it’s finally coming to a close I decided that it was finally time to go see Aladdin. After an early wake up call, a three and a half hour wait for rush tickets (and trust me that was no where near my longest- I got to the Matilda rush line last spring at 5am and Pippin at 6), Starbucks, lunch and some good ole retail therapy the curtain finally went up and I have to say Disney knows how to win my heart!

I was born in the early 90’s during the Disney Renaissance Period and grew up with all those movies playing on a constant loop on my family's VHS player. It was movies like Aladdin that I loved as a kid making this new Disney incarnation a must see! By the end of “Arabian Nights” I was already head over heels for this show-trust me it’s worth the admission price just to see these musical numbers- I had tears in my eyes during “A Whole New World.” It was worth every second waiting in that rush line, hearing “Let It Go” blast through my alarm at 5:30 in the morning and all that jazz.

I tweeted during intermission that we are looking at a serious contender for this years Tony for best Musical and trust me we are. One of the amazing things about Disney is that they know how to put on a good, quality show for all ages. I’ve never seen anything from them that has been too childish, cheesy or too adult like. They carefully choose their pieces and make them equally appealing for anyone, which I think, is something that makes them stand out. Aladdin is no different. The story is essentially the same from the film-I won’t bore you with the plot that I’m sure you all already know but with a few new characters and touches such as Aladdin’s trio of friends. The music is astounding with all the films ones and a host of new ones and some that didn’t make it into the classic film. I don’t know if you guys know this but there were 14 songs written for Aladdin but only 6 made it in. This stage adaptation gives life to most of those songs while adding new ones that all work so beautifully with the ones that we all know and love. And the costumes-now let me tell you they are absolutely STUNNING! My friend Bernadette is the costume assistant at the show and just her verbal descriptions of them got me excited! They are no lie some of the most beautiful pieces of clothing that I’ve ever seen-the bright colors, the glitter and the oodles of Swarovski crystals that are no doubt sewn by hand into many of those costumes is just incredible. From my seat in the mezzanine I could see the sparkle of the crystals and all of the set and the effects, which I also loved. The sets are wonderful but what I really loved was the visually stunning effects. I don’t want to say much and spoil it for all you but the Magic Carpet has to be my favorite as it really completed my Aladdin experience.

Of course I can’t talk about this show with talking about this cast. Disney did such a phenomenal job casting them. It’s hard to play a role that is so iconic that millions have seen on film and recreate it with your own spin while still honoring the original work but this cast along with every other Disney cast I’ve seen finds that perfect balance. James Monroe Iglehart who plays the Genie (and who I also saw in Memphis) is so funny and captures that humor of the Genie so beautifully. It’s perfect that he opens the show because he sets that humorous tone with the audience and you love him within the first minute-he also has more comedy under his thumb than I do in my whole body. Like what Robin Williams did in the films, whenever you see him you know you’re going to laugh and cheer for him. Jonathan Freeman (he was awesome in Little Mermaid) who voiced the villain Jafar in the films recreates the role for the stage. It’s such a treat to see something like that because not only are you hearing the voice that you’ve heard for years in the films but you’re seeing him do it in full costume with all the mannerisms and literally bringing the role from the recording booth to the stage. It’s what makes it incredible and something that you need to see. Adam Jacobs who our title character and hero Aladdin is a. a dead ringer for the street rat turned prince and b. an incredible performer. He brings this nice gentle touch to Aladdin that from the first time he and Jasmine meet you’re rooting for him, you want him to succeed, you want him to get the girl. Courtney Reed who plays the princess Jasmine is absolutely phenomenal. Now, before I continue I need to say that I am a huge fan of the Disney Princesses. I was that kid who wore princess clothes everyday, a toy box filled with princess dress up and accessories and had princess everything. My mom has told me that there was a point when I was about 4 to 5 where I would usually wear only things with a princess on it! My first cast album was actually a cassette of Beauty and the Beast and I worshipped Susan Eagan as a kid. On career day in the first grade I came dressed up as Belle (my favorite with Elsa now in a close second) cause I was going to work at Disney World and be Belle it was that simple there was no changing my mind. While I have long since outgrown my first grade career dream I still and always will love the princesses-yes I’m that girl in her early 20’s who has the princess movies on DVD and still wanders into the Disney Store every now and again. So to me, if you play a Disney Princess I have very high expectations. Courtney did not disappoint at all-she’s joining the ranks of other amazing original Disney Princesses Susan Egan and Sierra Boggess. Jasmine is kind and caring but she’s a tough cookie as she’s a little feisty but staunchly independent like some of the newer princesses we’ve seen like Rapunzel and Elsa. Ms. Reed brings all that to the role and more. Her singing is beautiful and I know I tweeted this earlier but Broadway legend Lea Salonga who was the singing voice for Jasmine in the film (and also for Mulan) will be proud because she does the role justice that all the princess fans will be thrilled. Like I said last season about Keala Settle and what I’ve been saying about Annaleigh Ashford-this girl is going places and is star in the making with this role.

In case you couldn’t tell this production blew me away! Disney never cease to amaze me and make me fall in love with these stories all over again-I broke out my DVD of Aladdin today and was humming “A Whole New World” while I got dressed. I left the theater wanting to come back and see the show again which is always a sign of something great. Disney has captured lightening in a bottle again and I’ll see you at the Tony’s Aladdin!